St. Louis!

So an epic leg of the journey is now complete! We’re presently resting up in St. Louis for a day or two, sorting out some details, updating the website, etc.

As soon as we figure out the picture thing, we’ll put some up, but right now the cameraman has some more pressing things to worry about. (Like the infamous stove that caused such a ruckus in Pekin. More on that later.)

But St. Louis ALSO means the end of the line for me. Yes my friends, I’m afraid that other commitments are going to keep me from completing this epic voyage. That said, I’m quite proud of what’s been done so far: Over 600 kilometers paddled along the Chicago Canal, the Des Plaines Illinois and Mississipi Rivers. Thirteen nights of camping out on the side of the river, through (as Sorouche put it) rain, rain, rain, sun!, rain, rain, rain. Big waves, bigger boats (those barges are HUGE! You could literally put a full size soccer pitch on some of those rafts that they push up and down the river) and some geography that I honestly wasn’t expecting. The swamplands, levees and nearer the end, cliffs of the Illinois river ARE something to see. Not to mention some of the characters that we met along the way! Yes friends, crossing the state of Illinois was indeed an interesting adventure, and let me tell you, I’m very happy I took this trip, though I’m not sure that I’d recommend it, exactly, as it’s not exactly ideally set up for kayaking . . .

Now, in the days to come, Sorouche will continue on Solo, but I will go back to civilization to recuperate, spend some time with family and get ready for my NEXT adventure. (I’m slated to fly to Europe in early June, but that’s a story for another blog . . .)

That said, starting Tuesday (after the Canadian long weekend) I’m going to put up a daily posting from the journal I kept on the trip. Call it a virtual re-enactment of the trip if you will, as I will try and post them as I wrote them, a day at a time (if two weeks later than they actually happened).